Bible Expedition: Prof. Horner Bible-Reading Plan – Day 1

Posted on April 29th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

My English Professor from TMC, Professor Grant Horner, has developed a Bible Reading Plan that he has adapted from several others. He and a large group of people from Facebook have been on the plan since January and the results have been amazing. They are HALFWAY through the Bible now and are chugging a long faithfully. As a result, I think I’m finally at a place spiritually where being disciplined enough to be in the Word is more of a priority than it was before. Of course that means I have to blog about it!

For a full description of the plan, as well as guide to get started you can visit the following links:

Prof. Horner’s Bible-Reading System Facebook Group
Prof. Horner’s Bible-Reading System PDF Download

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Day 1 Reading Plan

Old Testament
Genesis 1
Joshua 1
Job 1
Psalms 1
Proverbs 1
Isaiah 1

New Testament
Matthew 1
Acts 1
Romans 1
1 Thessalonians 1

Notes:

• “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2 ESV) – It doesn’t get any clearer then that… God created it all and was around from the beginning of the beginning.
• “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31 ESV) – God did in in six days… period!
• “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:5-6 ESV) – Wow! God is promising a lot here! The best part is He will fulfill it all!
• “And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses!” (Joshua 1:16-17 ESV) – Wow! The PEOPLE are promising a lot too… too bad they don’t fulfill it… yet God is faithful!
• Job 1:1-5 – Gee whiz! Sounds like a great life!
• “And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”” (Job 1:8 ESV) – This verse is troubling… God is the one who suggests Job as an example. It’s not as if Satan said, “Hey what about that guy?” I don’t think I realized that before.
• Job 1:13-19 – Job faces several types of calamity: Man-Made Disasters, Natural Disasters and Man-Made Evil.
• “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”” (Job 1:20-21 ESV) – I still don’t understand these verses. What was it inside of Job that allowed him to worship, even after he lost so much? After the evil, the accidents and the loss of family he still worships God?
• “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;” (Psalms 1:1 ESV) – The word for “wicked” in Hebrew is most often used in Psalms (92 times), Proverbs (85 times) and ironically Job (40 times). It’ll be interesting to see how wickedness plays such a big role in these books.
• Proverbs 1:1-7 – So it’s obvious that wisdom is an important attribute and characteristic to pursue and to even pray for (cf. James 1:5).
• “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” (Proverbs 1:8-9 ESV) – What an interesting description of the relationship between parents and children. Does this mean I look good when I do when I listen to their teaching?
• Proverbs 1:23-32 – It’s not only stupid not to listen to wisdom but it’s downright hazardous to your health! The consequences for ignoring wisdom are pretty steep and pretty heavy.
• “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”” (Isaiah 1:3 ESV) – Is God saying that His people are dumber than oxen and donkeys? How sad is that?
• ““What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.” (Isaiah 1:11 ESV) – God is saying, “It’s over!” God still loves them, but their sacrifices are worthless because their hearts are far from Him.
• Isaiah 1:12-15 – The system that God has set up is no longer valid because of Israel’s sin!
• “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:16-17 ESV) – God provides the solution to the problem and tell Israel EXACTLY what their sins are. Verse 17 is especially significant in light of Micah 6:8.
• Isaiah 1:21-23 – God explains that the city has become like an unfaithful wife… a whore. (Strong language!)
• Isaiah 1:24-31 – God explains how He will wreck the city as well as restore the city. God is specific and resolute. It will be done!
• Matthew 1:1-16 – For list of what all these names mean download This PDF of the Matthew Genealogy Name List (COMING SOON!)
• “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19 ESV) – This verse perhaps gives us the best glimpse of the quality of Joseph’s character. A “just man” that didn’t want to publically shame Mary. Most men these days are NOT this gracious. In fact, it seems that this could have been the big scandal that sold dozens of newspaprysus.
• Matthew 1:22-23 – Prophecy was a big deal to the Jews that were reading this. It should still be a big deal to us today!
• Acts 1:1-11 – These opening moments in Acts are really dependant on the end of the Gospels. I think my favorite verse in this section is verse 11 “… “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”” (Acts 1:11 ESV)
• “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:14 ESV) – The phrases “with one accord” and “devoting themselves” appear together many times in the book of Acts. What a picture of unity, perseverance (stole that from the Greek word for devotion: proskarterountes) and sticking together no matter what the situation. The fact that the early believers were also devoted to prayer should be a big deal to the chruch today as well. In fact, it should be a bigger deal for me.
• Acts 1:15-26 – Choosing a replacement for Judas Iscariot seemed like a pretty orderly process. The Bible doesn’t mention a fight between the nominating committee, the pulpit committee and ladies luncheon committee that all had different ideas of the who the replacement should be. Instead they all came together and did the right thing by praying and allow the Lord to run the process. What a great example!
• “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” (Romans 1:1 ESV) – I will never forget the Truth And Life Conference from 2007 where Dr. John MacArthur made an astonishing assertion that when we saw the word “servant” in the Bible it really meant “slave” (Greek word doulas).
• Romans 1:8-14 – Paul expresses just how much the Roman church means to him. His words are filled with both love and admiration for them.
• “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV) – Paul, who was beaten and eventually killed for the Gospel, was a shining example of what it means to not be ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel contains the power to save and also reveals God’s righteousness. There is so much that is very important in these few verses!
• “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thessalonians 1:2-3 ESV) – These are kind words considering the reception and the controversy their visit to Thessalonica caused (cf. Acts 17:1-9). I have to be honest and say that it is incredibly hard to continually give thanks and constantly pray. But the Gospel is stronger and produces a “steadfast hope” that is transforming.
• “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” (1Thessalonians 1:6-7 ESV) – The contagiousness and the attractiveness of the Gospel here is very evident. Paul and his crew were changed by the Gospel and became witnesses for the Gospel. As a result, The Thessalonians saw how Paul and his crew reacted under pressure and when persecuted and realized that they were the real deal. So the Thessalonians are changed by the Gospel and then turn around and modle the Gospel for others. I think the church should learn a little something from this!

Tags: 1 Thessalonians 1, Acts 1, Bible Expedition, Facebook, Genesis 1, Isaiah 1, Job 1, Joshua 1, Matthew 1, Professor Grant Horner, Proverbs 1, Psalms 1, Romans 1, The Master's College

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-26

Posted on April 26th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

• Check this video out — Susan Boyle – Singer – Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics) http://tinyurl.com/c49rgl #
• Napping until the family comes… #
• Just had Souplantation with the family and we’re now @CBTL enjoying a good conversation! #
• Francis Chan just said that his writting is “John Piper For Dummies” #
• Back at the homebase for work for the next few weeks! Look out you rabble rousers! #
• Excited for CG tonight! Can’t get enough of my peeps or enough of what God is doing in their lives! #
• Wow! I am blown away by what God is doing in my CG! #
• I’m a little tired and worn down and to sleep off some stress but I also need to work… time is tickin away… tick tick tickin away… #
• Time for movie night at Prof Forehands house! #
• “Take the first elevator… The second one goes to hell!” #

Tags: Twitter

Cliff Ames Jr Needs To Repent (You didn’t have to be a prophet to see this one coming…)

Posted on April 24th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

My Dear Readers-

First, I want to thank all of you who were willing to stand up and confront me on my error and the misinformation I posted in my last few posts. It takes a lot of courage to do so and it’s comforting knowing that all of you posted out of love and concern and not out of anger and hate.

Second, it can’t be overstated that a public form, such as this blog, has many pros and cons associated with it. Most of the cons have to do with writing things that can be misunderstood, writing things that are not well thought out and writing things that are critical of large groups of people. I think that my last few posts have accomplished all of those and that my dear readers, is a shame. It’s a shame that I did not share my opinions and thoughts in a meaningful and understandable way. It’s a shame that I wrote them from a precarious emotional and spiritual state. It’s a shame that I wrote things that were discouraging and divisive to a large group of people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Third, throughout these posts I had based my opinions and thoughts, solely on what was available as public knowledge and did no behind the scenes research at all. At first, this was intentional because it seemed to me that Dr. MacArthur’s posts clearly weren’t telling the whole story and my hopes were that people would press themselves and others into seeking out the full truth and the full story. What I mean by that is this: When Dr. MacArthur posted the first three articles it really didn’t seem plausible that one sermon two years ago was really the issue he was addressing. Because it was unclear to me, I shared suspicions and conjecture based only on what he had wrote and didn’t take into account that there may have been other things that had happened behind the scenes that I had no knowledge of. Thus when Dr. MacArthur’s fourth article came out and answered some questions and concerns, but not the questions or concerns I wanted answers to, I continued my attack and concluded my posts based only on what was said instead of seeking answers to the questions and concerns I had.

Fourth, no one knows better than me that Matthew 18 is the primary passage when dealing with interpersonal conflict and disagreement amongst believers. Therefore, if I had concerns or questions with Dr. MacArthur’s articles, my first stop should have been to contact him personally. Even though he discouraged this in his post, if I felt my concerns and questions were such that his approach and conduct was damaging to the Gospel then I had a mandate and an obligation to approach him first. Instead, I posted a public blog throwing around accusations. Some that had merit and some that did not. However, even the concerns that may have shown some merit, have now been tarnished by those that were made out of anger and partial information.

Therefore, I have written the following letter to Dr. MacArthur:

Dear Dr. John MacArthur,

I am a former TMC student and I am truly grateful and blessed by the time that God allowed me to be there under your leadership and the leadership of the excellent and exemplary faculty and staff that you lead.

I am writing this letter and asking for your forgiveness. Shortly after you published the “The Rape of Solomon’s Song” I posted several entries on my blog (http://talesfromtheyellowbrickroad/blog) that were slanderous to you, divisive to the body of Christ and filled with ignorant and inflammatory accusations against you and your congregation. I admit that this entry was written out of anger and hurt from a separate and unrelated matter at another church that has deeply wounded and hurt me emotionally and spiritually. I do not offer this information as an excuse, but rather as a plea for your understanding, mercy and grace in this matter.

In addition, while I may have had genuine and valid concerns about the motives and reasoning for your posts, most of them have been clarified by your final post as well as information that has been passed onto me by several gracious and loving members of your congregation. Let me assure you Dr. MacArthur, that they confronted and approached me with the love of Christ and with the goal of pointing out my errors and calling me to repent of my unfounded accusations. Your sheep have been well trained by their shepherd and this has been the largest factor in my reason for this letter.

I know that you love and care for your flock and even for the Body of Christ at large. This is demonstrated by your commitment to TMC, TMS and to boldly defending and contending for the Gospel every time you step into a pulpit. Your words are often strong but never obscene and as a result your ability to comment on the words of another Pastor are perhaps best suited for someone such as yourself. I’m not going to pretend or assume that I know all the reasons you wrote those articles, but what caused my concern was not only the way you referred to Mark Driscoll and the way you didn’t refer to him.

The words that I read were filled with strong statements against his exegesis of the passage as well as to his overall problem with “filthy language.” With this I wholeheartedly agree that a strong rebuke is necessary and even required by those who are shepherds to other shepherds. But what struck me was the absence of the spirit of gentleness. You stated on a number of occasions that your motivation for the articles was because a group of believers has sent you a tape. What you didn’t state was that you love Mark and have his best interests at heart, along with the Body of Christ at large.

It’s important to note that this point, that some members of your congregation informed me that you have written to Mark on several occasions. Perhaps in those letters your tone was less harsh and more loving and I am willing to accept that. But, my concern was that this was not communicated in any of the first three articles and in the final article you mentioned a letter that you had written him two years ago that sounded just as strong as your articles. In fact, the impression I got, only from what you wrote in those articles, was that you wrote him one letter two years ago before submitting those three articles to the entire world. That is what has led me to wonder if you love Mark and those whom he shepherds.

It would be silly of me at this point to include a long list of scripture as a basis for this, as you have preached on all of them probably two to three times over the past 40 years. However I will submit the following for your consideration:

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Galatians 6:1 (ESV)

Dr. MacArthur I am willing to be humble and contrite if I have erred in my concern that you did not approach your articles in a spirit of gentleness. I am also willing to be humble and contrite if I have misunderstood the purpose of your article asthe well being of those that sent you the recording and not Mark and his flock. I am also hoping that you will receive my words in this letter in a spirit of gentleness.

Again, I am sorry for the words I used in my posts that were not loving, kind or gentle. And I have publically repented of those false statements and slanderous words on my blog and verbally to those in your congregation who approached me.

Your Brother In Christ,
Cliff Ames Jr.

Fifth, I want to restate something I said in my last post, but be more clear: Mark’s words to the people in Scotland would never be appropriate or okay for a Pastor to say in a Sermon from the pulpit. His exegesis on the Song of Solomon was bad and the language he used was explicit. I was mistaken is stating that he repented of the words he spoke to the people in Scotland, but I am not mistaken that his attempt to have it removed shows that he has realized his words were a problem.

Lastly my dear readers, I ask for your forgiveness for my errors, my false accusations, my assumptions and my poor motives for my posts. I have caused division amongst you because of my own selfish desire to express anger about something totally unrelated. It was not fair to accuse those that attend GCC of wrongdoing, especially since I do not attend GCC and have only been there a handful of times. I had no right to lump all of you into a singular category of those who hate Mark Driscoll or have treated him badly. And for those of you who have taken one side or another and have been arguing back and forth with each other whether online or in person, please, in the name of Christ, stop. Just so we are clear, I am renouncing, repealing, repenting and rejecting those words that were false, filled with error and written out of anger and as a result it is no longer necessary to carry on a debate or discussion based on my words on this blog.

If you feel like this is an unsatisfactory apology, repentance of my words or you are still concerned about what was said, then I beg you in the name of Christ, not to hold it against me, but to lovingly contact me as so many of you have already done. I will talk to you, email you or even chat with you in person if that is what it takes to repair a rift in our relationship.

I hope you will keep reading and will continue to participate when other posts come up that are more edifying and glorifying to Christ and His Bride. My intention isn’t necessarily to avoid controversial topics, but to post entries that will encourage and build up the Body of Christ rather then tear down and divide as I have done this past week.

Thanks in advance for your mercy and grace,
Cliff Ames Jr.

Tags: Dr. John MacArthur, Grace Community Church, Mars Hill Church Seattle, Pastor Mark Driscoll, Phill Johnson, The Shepherd's Conference

John MacArthur Needs To Repent – Conclusion

Posted on April 20th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

First of all I want to thank all of you that posted and commented. I didn’t think my little post would garner so much attention from such a wide audience. Every comment that was submitted got published unless I was otherwise directed, so thanks for behaving yourselves!

To begin I want to start with a little timeline I constructed, based on John MacArthur’s posts as well as Mark Driscroll’s posts and his own words:

• September 30th, 2007 – JMac sends his letter to Mark
• November 18th, 2007 – Mark gives the Song Of Solomon lectures in Scotland
• March 9th, 2009 – Phil Johnson publicly attacks Mark during the Shepherds Conference in a message called “Sound Doctrine; Sound Words.”
  
• March 26th, 2009 – Mark posts “John MacArthur On Bible Teaching” in which he adds JMac to the growing list of those who are part of the “New Calvinist” movement. He also applauds JMac for his longstanding devotion to defending scripture.
  
• April 5th, 2009 – Mark posts “Spring Cleaning” in which he realizes that his lectures “out of the country” were inappropriate for the internet and were meant to be private. He shares that he wants the lectures removed and that he appreciated his critics bringing this to his attention.
  
• April 14th-17th, 2009 – JMac launches his attack on Mark’s lecture via “The Rape of Solomon’s Song”

So, I am going to base my conclusion based on those events.

1. Mark’s Scotland lectures, messages, sermons or whatever you want to call them were not intended for public use and for JMac to construct his 4 articles around those lectures was not the wisest idea. It seems to me JMac picked the most inflammatory example he could think of in order to paint and cast Mark into a filthy, vile and despicable preacher and in order to satisfy the demands of those that sent him the recordings in the first place. It also makes me think he was hard pressed to find other evidence that could not be easily defended by Mark or others who would question JMac’s objectivity in his writing.

2. Mark’s Scotland lectures, messages, sermons or whatever you want to call them were bad exegesis. Mark went too far in interpreting the various symbols and such into body parts and various kinds of sexual activities. I think his attempt to have them removed didn’t go far enough. He needed to state in no uncertain terms that those lectures were not appropriate and that he has since revised his understanding of the Song of Solomon. And if Mark thinks he interpreted those passages correctly in that lecture and that turning symbolism into commands is okay then that is a problem worth noting.

3. Over the past few months Mark has received tons of media coverage and I think that makes JMac nervous, and for good reason. Mark is a young, vibrant energetic preacher and lots of us young kids have enjoyed learning and growing from Mark’s teaching over the years. But Mark sometimes has a Peter complex: he speaks without choosing his words carefully and sometimes is to impetuous to think through what needs to be said rather then what he wants to say. From my own observations I’d say Mark has grown significantly in this area which is a real tribute to how the Lord can still grow and change even a pastor of a mega-church. However, JMac’s concern seems to be that Mark has compromised his qualification to be a preacher because of the things he has said and at any moment is going to launch a “cussing preachers” movement that will corrupt the minds of the folks at TMS and TMC. But JMac should know better. He has trained those who have or are attending TMS or TMC to hold scripture as the ultimate authority and that no one, not even JMac gets a free pass if they are doing preaching things that are contrary to scripture.

4. I think JMac’s approach in these articles was bad. He sounds like a grumpy, angry, uptight, legalistic Father that needs to take a Prozac. Instead, JMac should have taken the approach of a loving Father and rebuked Mark for being careless in allowing those recordings to be made and distributed as well as not being quicker to see that he had erred in his exegesis. JMac needed to show humility and gentleness in his understanding of the situation and instead of using a letter sent almost 2 years ago as a warning. He should have made further attempts to seek out Mark’s heart. JMac’s words sound like an exasperated father who has written off his son as irredeemable, especially with his “Enough is enough” comment in his final post. Does JMac realize his unChrist-like statement? Does God ever say “Enough is enough” to JMac? Will God ever say that to one of His children who struggles with their sin? NEVER! God shows us Grace! God even shows JMac Grace! So why is JMac exempt from showing Grace to this young son?

My final point is this, I am willing to believe that JMac can change. I am willing to believe that the next time some preacher or ministry has strayed from the narrow path (even if it’s JMac’s own narrower path) that he can and will adopt a tone of Grace and Humility but will remain firm in defending Scripture. I’m know that JMac can be a loving and gracious person and have seen that repeatedly in his interaction with TMC and TMC students. He loves them, shepherds them and even extends grace to them when they err. He even extends grace to them if the err again. So why should someone else only receive one, six page letter before he is mercilessly and publicly rebuked for twelve pages two years later? If JMac and his followers continue to rebuke minsters of the Gospel using this method, then they need to change the name of their ministry from “Grace To You” to “Grace To Some.”

Tags: Dr. John MacArthur, Grace Community Church, Grace To You, Mars Hill Church Seattle, Pastor Mark Driscoll, Phill Johnson, The Rape Of Solomon's Song, The Resurgence, The Shepherd's Conference

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-19

Posted on April 19th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

• Is sleeping better because He Is Risen… #
• Had a great afternoon with the family and now waiting for the service to begin @CStone #
• Hoping that today’s meeting will result in forward progress… #
• Had a good time at work last night cause I was back at the main hub. Man I miss my coworkers when I’m banished to offsite work! #
• Just made Sloppy Joe’s and Au Graten Potatoes! I think I’m getting my cooking groove back! #
• You gotta read Racheal Mofya’s story: http://tinyurl.com/dlv4vh #
• I am awake and ready for the afternoon/evening ahead: Eat, CG, Eat, Work, Eat, Work, Snack, Sleep! (Can you tell that I’m hungry right now?) #
• Had a good evening at work, working on ****. At least I actually like **** where as when I worked on ************************ it was painful #
• Wow… I stirred up a hornets nest! Comment away people! Dissenting viewpoints welcome! http://talesfromtheyellowbrickroad.com/blog/ #
• Going to work… wonder what’s on the docket for tonight? #
• Gearing up for my final post on: http://tinyurl.com/cu554t and hope I am humble #
• Working with a little known musical genius… #
• Edited, made soundtracks w/Andy, made a crock pot recipe and fixed the fridge door… who needs sleep with that much excitement?!:-D #
• On the set of… the Melrose Place Pilot? http://twitpic.com/3ko9p #
• Enjoying the hospitality of Craft Services… well just a little! #
• Just saw and walked past Ashlee Simpson and Micheal Rady (Kostas from Traveling Pants fame)… AKA: Naughty and Nice… #

Tags: Twitter

John MacArthur Needs To Repent – Interlude

Posted on April 17th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

John MacArthur has posted his fourth and final article: Shepherd’s Fellowship: “The Rape of Solomon’s Song – Part 4 – conclusion″

I just got home from work and briefly skimmed what it had to say but I realize now I am too tired to respond or process through what JMac said. I want to also take time to repond to some comments I have received. All of them have been much appreciated and well thought out.

However I would add this note… do not be afraid to post a comment here out of fear of GCC and John MacArthur or of MHC and Mark Driscoll. Don’t be slanderous, but don’t be afraid to speak your mind and share your thoughts. The Church does not rise and fall on the opinions of a fundamentalist or a liberal, nor their critics… It rises and falls on the Gospel… something I will be talking about more in my next post and will defend to my last breath.

Until then, keep the discussion going and read JMac’s final edict on Mark.

EDITED: Friday April 17th, 2009 @5:50pm

I have decided to let the weekend pass before I respond. After re-reading JMac’s final article again I realized that his reply to his critics was well played on his part and required more thought and care on my part. I also realized that my feelings about this matter needed to cool down before I went any further in my responses to comments or to JMac’s final article. I can honestly say I didn’t know how much this would upset me and so I want to take some time to be humble and more loving in my appraoch to this matter.

Tags: Dr. John MacArthur, Pastor Mark Driscoll

John MacArthur Needs To Repent

Posted on April 16th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

First you should read the following full articles written by John MacArthur: Shepherd’s Fellowship: “The Rape of Solomon’s Song – Part 1″

Shepherd’s Fellowship: “The Rape of Solomon’s Song – Part 2″

Shepherd’s Fellowship: “The Rape of Solomon’s Song – Part 3”

Second, here the excerpt that is most relevant to my post:

I was recently given a recording of one of these messages, where the speaker said, “Ladies, let me assure you of this: if you think you’re being dirty, he’s pretty happy.” Such pronouncements are usually made amid raucous laughter, but evidently we are expected to take them seriously. When the laughter died away, that speaker added, “Jesus Christ commands you to do this.” That approach is not exegesis; it is exploitation. It is contrary to the literary style of the book itself. It is spiritually tantamount to an act of rape. It tears the beautiful poetic dress off Song of Solomon, strips that portion of Scripture of its dignity, and holds it up to be laughed at and leered at in a carnal way. Mark Driscoll has boldly led the parade down this carnal path. He is by far the best-known and most prolific popular proponent of handling the Song of Solomon that way. He has said repeatedly that this is his favorite passage of Scripture, and he has come back to it again and again in recent years, culminating in a highly publicized series released on video via the Internet last year….

All a careful interpreter can say with certainty is that Solomon finds his bride pleasurable to all his sensory perceptions. He therefore likens her to the most pleasant and beautiful imagery he can think of—ointments and fragrances and visual delights—all concentrated together in one well-cultivated spot. A garden. The garden is “locked,” which, again, underscores the intimate privacy of pure marital love. Nothing requires the exegete to take it any further than that. Scripture itself doesn’t go further than that.

“It’s frank but not crass,” Mark Driscoll told a Sunday congregation in Scotland just less than 18 months ago. But then he continued by paraphrasing Solomon in a way that was totally crass and not even remotely close to what the Holy Spirit intended. (A CD copy of that shocking message, entitled Sex: A Study of the Good Bits of Song of Solomon was recently sent to me by some deeply offended and concerned Christians in the UK. It is primarily the reason I’m doing this series.)

Third, you need to read Mark Dricoll’s own words about his own words: The Resurgence: “Spring Cleaning”

Fourth, here is the excerpt that is most relevant to my post:

After finishing my fourth and final sermon of the day at Mars Hill Church and before heading home to kiss my children before they went to bed, I received two emails from an older pastor whom I respect very much. In love, he brought to my attention a piece of content from me online that some of my critics have picked up on. It was a message I did out of the country a few years back on the more controversial sections of the Song of Songs…. I want to thank my critics for teaching me that I have multiple audiences and that in addition to the room I speak to I am often also speaking to the world and need to keep repenting, learning, and growing in this skill for the sake of the gospel. In that way, my critics are helpful, and for them I am grateful.

Fifth, here is another blog that picked up JMac’s comments and asked a few good questions: Monday Morning Insight: “Mark Driscoll Has Boldly Led The Parade Down This Carnal Path”

Sixth, here are a few of those questions most relevant to this post:

4.  It seems to me that MacArthur’s tirade would seem to have more credibility if the people he’s lumping together were teaching something that wasn’t Biblical.  He might not like the way the material is presented.  It may be sensationalistic to him.  But every sex series that I’ve seen or heard of comes down to this:  Biblical sexuality.  One man.  One Woman (no homosexuality, lesbianism, trannies, etc. allowed).  No pre-marital sex.  No extra-marital sex.  How to deal with lust.  Those topics, given our current culture, seem like admirable topics.  Oh, and yes… Biblical as well.

5.  I find it somewhat ironic… no unbelieveably ironic that John names his article “The Rape of Solomon’s Song”.  What a provocative title.  Does John know what RAPE means?  Does John realize that the word RAPE is no where to be found in the Bible (at least the King James version).  What a sensationalistic title.  OK, maybe it’s not as sensationalistic as SolomonsBeenRaped.com; but I think you get the idea.  Why did John feel the need to use this title?  Could it be the same reason that churches use things like MyStupidSexLife.com.  It gets your attention.  And once you have attention, you can tell your story.  It’s the same thing, isn’t it?!

Finally, here are my own thoughts…

Unfortunately, John MacArthur is out of line this time by specifically targeting Mark Driscroll because of a personal dislike for his methods rather than a true concern for the content of his teaching. This is evident because Mark has already posted a repentance of his comments on the recording in question as well as for the language used during his sermon series. He did so on his blog (linked and quoted above) and vocally to his congregation in at least two of his last five sermons in the past month or so (when I find the links I’ll post them). He has also done all he could to to have the link removed from the internet. However, JMac has seen fit to post a link to the “crude” teaching he so outspokenly is complaining about.

Once again, sheep attacking other sheep. JMac has been one of Mark’s biggest and loudest critics and so have his followers like Phil Johnson and others. A session at the recent Shepherds Conference was devoted to tearing down Mark. My challenge to them would to spend a week in ministry in Seattle and see if their uptight fundamentalist approach to ministry would be effective or damaging to the Gospel. Their true problem with Mark is not the content of his teaching but his style and method of contextualizing the Gospel for the radically unsaved and pagan city of Seattle. To JMac and his followers it appears that contextualizing the Gospel has no place in the American Church and those that do so are bound to end up in their slanderous blog’s gunsights.

How dare they take the time to carefully and methodicaly plan out 3-4 blog posts devoted only to slandering another minister of the Gospel! What purpose is this serving JMac? I noticed in his most recent post that he is quick to belittle Mark’s motives for writing books an then shamelessly plugs his MacArthur Study Bible. How is that serving the Gospel and promoting unity among believers? Furthermore, if these UK believers are so offended by Mark’s teaching, they are Biblicailly mandated to take it up with Mark personally rather then fan into flame gossip and slander. JMac should know better and should have rebuked them for sending him the tape and not addressing Mark personally. Instead, JMac has taken this opportunity to be used as an instrument of division rather than unity. JMac’s legalistic side is brutally ugly in all of these articles and his attacks are not Spirit led.

Why can’t JMac spend more time encouraging Mark for what he’s got right? Such as the authority and supremacy of Scripture? Or the importance of preaching through the word book by book rather then topic by topic. What about the things they agree on such as creation, homosexuality and yes even the definition of marriage?

At the end of his most recent post JMac said:

Several questions have come up repeatedly from people who have commented on these articles, and in tomorrow’s final installment, I want to answer as many of them as possible.

I hope some of those questions are:

1. Why post a link to something you consider to be “crude”? Isn’t that just as bad as saying it yourself?

2. Why have you ignored Mark’s post about his repenting of the recording that caused you to start this whole series?

3. Why must you use a “know-it-all” legalistic approach to your post, rather then a humble, loving tone that even Mark has used to address critics like you? (See: The Resurgence: “John MacArthur On Bible Teaching”)

If JMac refuses to answer questions like these then there is only one thing to say…

John MacArthur… you need to repent!

Tags: Dr. John MacArthur, Pastor Mark Driscoll

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-12

Posted on April 12th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

• Doing the family day thing and the heading to my CG BBQ for Session 10 of TGC… How many more acronyms could I have typed? #
• Hangin with the CG peeps and enjoying the company! #
• Wow… Francis Chan and CStone have set the bar high my friends. I never want to “go” to church again… I hope you don’t either. #
• Preparing for a busy week with prayer and some good old fashioned time in the Word. Can’t go into battle unprepared! #
• A pixel’s a pixel… No matter how small! #
• Praying for humility, wisdom and a gracious spirit. #
• Grateful for answered prayer. Now it’s time to get to wok capturing footage like there’s no tomorrow! #
• I think it’s time for me to break down and get a HDV Deck… Sony here I come! #
• Had a crazy dream… even had a narrator, flashbacks, music sound fx… it was like a movie… some of it was pretty scary though… #
• Is ready to hear Mozart’s “Requiem Mass” LIVE for the first time tonight… I have high hopes so it better be good! #
• Was blown away by the performance at Forest Lawn tonight! #
• Wow… where did all this side work come from? Oh well! I’ll take it while I can get it! #
• I am watching Mars Hill live right now at http://bit.ly/nm5VT #
• Just saved a lady from buying the new version of “The Day The Earth Stood Still”! She’ll never know how close she came to destruction! #

Tags: Twitter

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-05

Posted on April 5th, 2009 by Cliff Ames Jr.

• Spending the day in Simi preparing for The Gospel Conference at Cornerstone #
• In line for dinner at The Gospel Conference (TGC)… Looks like it’s fried chicken! #
• Well I didn’t get in line quick enough for chicken… But I guess that’s a good problem to have! #
• Wow saving seats was a good call! Gotta get here early! Looks like we’re getting started! #
• Tonights video just so happens to be highlighting my Community Group! Rock on Mike and Tim! #
• Session 2 was awesome! I’ll be posting my notes tomorrow! #
• Got some breakfast and coffee and I’m waiting for Session 3 to start! #
• Looks like the speaker for this afternoon can’t make it so we get Jeff Vanderstelt all day! #
• On top of that Jeff is making all his notes available! Rock on! #
• Wow Session 3 was powerful! Lots to think about over lunch! Notes coming as soon as I can get a connection! #
• Pray for Pastor Roger at Lighthouse Bible Church who had a heart attack this morning. #
• Jeff Vanderstelt knocked it out of the park these past few days! Praise God for his heart for the lost! Looking forward to David Livingston! #
• Session 5 is underway! #
• It was nice to spend another great evening w/my peeps from Community Group (CG). I can’t wait for us to put all we’ve learned into practice! #
• Getting ready for Session 7 with Drew Goodman! #
• Looks like Session 7 is a Q&A with CStone staff… Awesome! #
• Session 8 tonight very rad and very challenging! This has been an amazing conference that has seriously challenged my view on the church! #
• Back at work today… Bummed I had to miss Session 9… But the bright side is I’m working the day shift off site again! #
• OMG! “Baby Baby” by Amy Grant just came on over the radio in the cafe! Talk about taking me back to the old days! #
• Is going out to dinner with Nick and Jen to celebrate Nick’s new job!!! #
• Is looking foward to lunch with Tim today! Bob’s Big Boy here I come! #
• Looking forward to All Space Considered at the Griffith Observatory tonight! I get to hang out with my CG peeps too! #
• Finally getting some major video editing work done on the Hayes/McClure recital that I should have had done months ago… sorry ladies ! #

Tags: Twitter